Oregon's 12% Unemployment is ... Good News?
Jeff Alworth
The unemployment figures came out today, and Oregon is holding steady at 12%. The bad news is still legion: the state lost 9500 jobs; unemployment has more than doubled since this time last year; Oregon's still far higher than the national average of 8.9%. And state officials are still not heaving sighs of relief:
"It's slower than it was at the beginning of the year," said Chris Greaves, an Oregon Employment Department research analyst. "But it's still early to say that this is showing a bottom."
Still, given the vertical drop in unemployment numbers over the past few months, this number surprised economists. Employment problems are far from over, and unemployment may yet rise before it starts going down, but this is a pleasant surprise. Let's hope we continue to be pleasantly surprised.
Your thoughts?
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May 19, '09
...is a number. The "unemployment figures" are so attenuated and qualified as to not bear any relation to the common language denotation.
Try this simple test. I've done it seven times, with the same outcome. Find someone that's unemployed. Plug their particulars into the forumlae that Labor uses. They weren't counted. I'm 7/7. Most common cause: after a period of time, you are deemed "chronically unemployed", which, literally, means "you don't count". Add under-employed- not Labor's definition, ask the person "is this what you are supposed to be doing"- and the number is more like 33%.
Add the people that refuse to work and can't work, and you get a real world EMPLOYMENT figure of around 25%. Within 10 years, 90% of the workforce will be temporary workers, I would bet. The "employement" construct just doesn't hold water, anymore.
To answer the post query, "yes". That number is only of political consequence, so it's good news for Dems. Sorry to have gotten off-topic with reality.
May 19, '09
"state officials are still not heaving sighs of relief"
Umm, what exactly are state officials doing to fix unemployment here besides waiting it out?
May 19, '09
If the free market is supposed to self-regulate, when will it turn this around? How long do we have to wait? Seriously, is there some reason the private sector is not performing? Maybe now we can admit that the proposition is really just a fantasy, cause if it had any merit, it would have "fixed" the problem by now.
May 20, '09
I have a master's degree and have 24 years of solid working experience. I will be unemployed as of the end of June along with many others. I think that it is a disgrace that someone like me cannot find a job. It is ironic also that we are just behind Michigan in unemployment numbers. How sad is that?
May 22, '09
There are twice as many people in the US and 4 times as many in the world as when the theory first was promulgated. There's a "doesn't count" category- as I think Peri was saying- which, coincidentally, are the people that can think outside the box and have an education. LI, the masters is WHY you can't get a job in any other area.
A hiring manager asks him/herself three questions these days. Will they kiss my ass, will they look better to my boss than me, and how much fun will they be? The biggest market myth is the "almighty dollar". It's supposed to rule peoples' minds. It doesn't. You can find lots- most- companies doing things that they know are counterproductive, because egos like it. That's another thing that happens with too many people. Social values replace production values in the workplace. Yes, you've a brilliant, truly outstanding work record, and we'd love to hire you. First, though, pee in a cup, let us check your credit rating, and, BTW, do you have a Facebook page we can look at?